NOTE: The name of Nara’s landlord was incorrect in this story published Jan. 26.

Nara, chef Donald Chang’s ambitious marriage of his native Korean cuisine with high-end Japanese, will close on Saturday. A disagreement with the landlord at West Ave has led the Chang and his business partner to pull the plug on the restaurant that wowed with its high-flying sushi and modern evocation of classic Korean cuisine.

“All of us are just kind of stunned,” Chang said Monday afternoon. “It’s disappointing because I loved the concept, loved the restaurant, gave it my all.”

The restaurant, which opened in November 2013, occupied the space of the failed Katsuya at West Ave, the residential/retail/restaurant complex at Kirby and Westheimer. Nara recently spent about $100,000 on a remodeling project that relocated its entrance and bar to the Kipling side of the space. Chang said that he asked his landlord for signage on Kirby and complimentary valet parking on Kipling.

But instead of working with the restaurant, the landlord communicated a 10-day notice to vacate on Jan. 31, the Houston restaurateur stated.

“We just wanted some simple things to help us to continue to grow,” Chang said. “Unfortunately, we just can’t continue investing more and more money in a place that is not investing in us.”

While he is disappointed that Nara is closing, Chang said he’s also proud of what the restaurant accomplished and the support he’s received from the Korean community as well as friends and foodies.

“I’m going to be sad for the people who liked and supported us,” said the chef who has run Japanese restaurants including Uptown Sushi, Bluefin, The Fish and Miyako. “We’ve had so much love and support.”

Nara fans should expect the restaurant to be in a party mood this week. While the private rooms have previously been booked for Friday and Saturday, Chang said he expects to have a happy hour mood all week “and go out with a bang.”

He also hinted that he’s got another project in the works. “There’s one thing I told myself when I first started in the business: I hope the restaurant I retire in will be very quaint, authentic, specialized sushi bar,” he said.

Could his next project be that specialized sushi bar? Maybe not: Chang is much too young to retire. But it could suggest the style of food he feels comfortable settling into. Whatever his next step is, he remains optimistic and invested with that that “when one kitchen door closes, another one opens”-attitude.